Does Marilyn Evergreen sound stupid to you?

[Z_TheWriter]

Believe me, I'm trying.

Same girl, same.

 

[Husky_Embrace]

THAT word is not acceptable.

I think you're referring to the word "dyke?" Now that I've looked it up I see it is a derogatory term. My apologies if I caused offence. I only knew it was used in the context of women, and it fit well with the blockage of water.

As a non-native speaker I would like to know how to place it. Is it that severe? How does it differ from derogatory terms like "whore?"

 

[YmaOHyd]

I think you're referring to the word "dyke?" Now that I've looked it up I see it is a derogatory term. My apologies if I caused offence. I only knew it was used in the context of women, and it fit well with the blockage of water.

As a non-native speaker I would like to know how to place it. Is it that severe? How does it differ from derogatory terms like "whore?"

It's specifically a slur aimed at lesbian women, and isn't acceptable because it's a targeted insult.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Not my lifestyle, but I've heard it's high on the list like the 'n' word, or the 'k' word for Jews.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Another one too many people don't know is on the list is 'Gypped' which is a slur for the perceived Gypsy/Romany reputation of cheating people.

 

[Husky_Embrace]

It's specifically a slur aimed at lesbian women, and isn't acceptable because it's a targeted insult.

I'll use the word sparingly, I promise. Though "whore" is also a targeted insult as well. I suppose the real difference is the severity it represents.

Though the description also says it has been reclaimed? I made no intent of degrading lesbians. Is it then still a problem? That seems like a reversal of discrimination to me. One thing I've never understood about the n word either. Maybe a discussion for another time though.

Another one too many people don't know is on the list is 'Gypped' which is a slur for the perceived Gypsy/Romany reputation of cheating people.

I was not aware of gypped existing. Nor was I aware of the "k" word for Jews.

What is with not even being able to say the word when discussing the words themselves? It is not as if we're using it as a derogatory term. It is another thing I feel comes from America where a lot of words are too horrible to utter or something. If we discuss the n, k or c words and you know what's being talked about it even has a higher impact than uttering the full word.

Same with bleeping words. You see because people are decoding the word they are more busy with it, giving it a greater impact. Everyone hears fuck, so what use was the bleeping out of the -uck? As a psychologist I would argue that it's better not to bleep or otherwise censor the words. Hiding it only fixates us, and it gives ever more weight to the words.

If you go to the UK and you say the c word and they view it differently.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

What is with not even being able to say the word when discussing the words themselves?

Some word filters will block the full word and people have been suspended from forums for spelling them out in any context.

But this is not the topic of this thread.

 

[Husky_Embrace]

Some word filters will block the full word and people have been suspended from forums for spelling them out in any context.

Ah that is a far better reason. Carry on!

 

[Writer61]

If you go to the UK and you say the c word and they view it differently.

Not really. It might be OK in a friend group, but you should not use it publicly.

A few years ago, a radio presenter about to interview Jeremy Hunt, then the Minister of Culture, introduced him as Jeremy Cunt. Cue: a lot of fuss.

If you must refer to it, call it the c-word.

 

[alohadave]

I think you're referring to the word "dyke?" Now that I've looked it up I see it is a derogatory term. My apologies if I caused offence. I only knew it was used in the context of women, and it fit well with the blockage of water.

As a non-native speaker I would like to know how to place it. Is it that severe? How does it differ from derogatory terms like "whore?"

Dike is the term for holding back water.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Dick Van Dyke, aka Robert Petre, aka Bert and Mr. Dawes Sr., aka Paul Galesko, aka Dick Preston, aka Caractacus Potts, aka Billy Bright, aka District Attorney John Fletcher, aka Dr. Townshend, aka Dr. Mark Sloan, did not change his name from Richard Vanlesbian. That is a scurrilous lie perpetrated by comedians.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Zen is Ken, baby, Zen is Ken, and Zed is dead!

I knew a guy named Zen. He was just ordinary white European, it didn't come from somewhere special. He claimed his parents had just been high when they decided it.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Dike is the term for holding back water.

Dyke is a perfectly legit spelling - perhaps more common in the UK?

As a term to describe lesbians, it's intentionally insulting but also reclaimed by those described by it, as in the Dykes to Watch Out For comics

I have to admit I got to my thirties without realising it was only a slur, simply because the word lesbian was so often used as a slur in the same way. Only when Clare Balding was called it on TV and there was a fuss did I notice the differing usage. Of course she's now generally known as 'National Treasure Clare Balding', as per Celebrity Traitors.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

There's a guy who works for my dad whose first name is River. To me, that's an odd boys name.

It's a plot point in Slow Horses that the protagonist is named River Cartwright, because his parents were useless hippies. His grandfather raised him but didn't change his name.

The main other example people will know is River Phoenix, again with the hippy parents and siblings called Leaf, Rain etc. Though now there's likely grown-up guys called after him.

Evergreen doesn't work for me as a surname denoting wealth. In a US generic white context I'd look up lists of top 500 rich people and pick syllables or names from there, likely of British or Germanic origin. Carter. Vandersar. Greenhill. Goodwood.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Evergreen doesn't work for me as a surname denoting wealth. In a US generic white context I'd look up lists of top 500 rich people and pick syllables or names from there, likely of British or Germanic origin. Carter. Vandersar. Greenhill. Goodwood.

That's exactly why I like it ... BECAUSE it's different and not a typical name.

 

[YmaOHyd]

It's a plot point in Slow Horses that the protagonist is named River Cartwright, because his parents were useless hippies. His grandfather raised him but didn't change his name.

Well, one of his parents was a hippie. The other was [is dragged into a black van and waterproofed]

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Well, one of his parents was a hippie. The other was [is dragged into a black van and waterproofed]

I was trying to avoid spoilers, under penalty of [redacted]!

 

[MillieDynamite]

Personally, I've only met one guy named River and four or five women. Sparrow and Wren are dizygotic twins. He's Sparrow, and she's Wren, and I find that fucking funny as hell. They're my age, so if their parents were (or are) hippies, they were old enough to know better when those kids came along.

It's a plot point in Slow Horses that the protagonist is named River Cartwright, because his parents were useless hippies. His grandfather raised him but didn't change his name.

The main other example people will know is River Phoenix, again with the hippy parents and siblings called Leaf, Rain etc. Though now there's likely grown-up guys called after him.

Evergreen doesn't work for me as a surname denoting wealth. In a US generic white context I'd look up lists of top 500 rich people and pick syllables or names from there, likely of British or Germanic origin. Carter. Vandersar. Greenhill. Goodwood.

 

[cw5523729]

Not my lifestyle, but I've heard it's high on the list like the 'n' word, or the 'k' word for Jews.

While I don't disagree that dyke is offensive, I think the list of people that equates it with the N word, or even the K word, consists of: you

Go shout the N word and D word both as a white person in downtown Los Angeles and let me know which one them gets you stabbed to death.

 

[Writer61]

Dyke is a perfectly legit spelling - perhaps more common in the UK?

The Chambers and the Cambridge dictionaries list dyke as the primary spelling in British English, both list dike as an alternative spelling. Both note that dyke is offensive as a slur.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Can we keep all that on the new Slur thread and let this one get back to the character name?

One off comments should not take over threads.

 

[cw5523729]

Dyke is a perfectly legit spelling - perhaps more common in the UK?

In the US, dyke specifically refers to a person, dike specifically refers to that thing that holds water back. They aren't interchangeable even though they are pronounced identically.

 

[gunhilltrain]

It's a plot point in Slow Horses that the protagonist is named River Cartwright, because his parents were useless hippies. His grandfather raised him but didn't change his name.

The main other example people will know is River Phoenix, again with the hippy parents and siblings called Leaf, Rain etc. Though now there's likely grown-up guys called after him.

Evergreen doesn't work for me as a surname denoting wealth. In a US generic white context I'd look up lists of top 500 rich people and pick syllables or names from there, likely of British or Germanic origin. Carter. Vandersar. Greenhill. Goodwood.

The patriarch of the Phoenix clan was a man named John Lee Bottom (1947 - 2019), who understandably changed his last name, but then he picked Phoenix. (It was indeed the 1960s, and I assume he meant the mythical bird, not the city.) River did use his real first name professionally, and Joaquan uses his in his career. The three sisters are Rain, Liberty, and Summer, who are all in various show business professions.

 

[Writer61]

The patriarch of the Phoenix clan was a man named John Lee Bottom (1947 - 2019), who understandably changed his last name, but then he picked Phoenix. (It was indeed the 1960s, and I assume he meant the mythical bird, not the city.) River did use his real first name professionally, and Joaquan uses his in his career. The three sisters are Rain, Liberty, and Summer, who are all in various show business professions.

A teacher at my school had supposedly changed his name from Honeybottom. Can't say that I blame him.

 

[alohadave]

A teacher at my school had supposedly changed his name from Honeybottom. Can't say that I blame him.

My wife worked with a guy named Glasscock. He had daughters.